PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (27-49) AT SAN ANTONIO SPURS (31-45)
Friday, April 1 • 5:30 p.m. (Pacific) • AT&T Center
San Antonio, Texas
SERIES HISTORY
ALL TIME: Spurs lead, 89-89
PORTLAND HOME: Trail Blazers lead, 55-34
SAN ANTONIO HOME: Spurs lead, 56-33
LAST PORTLAND WIN: 124-102, 5/8/21 (SAS)
LAST SAN ANTONIO WIN: 133-96, 3/23/22 (Por.)
CURRENT WIN STREAK: Two (SAS)
SERIES NOTES
• Friday's game marks the third of four matchups between San Antonio and Portland this season and the first at the AT&T Center. The two teams will close out the series Sunday afternoon in San Antonio.
• LAST MEETING: Portland lost to San Antonio 133-96 last week as four Spurs recorded 15-plus points. Drew Eubanks led the Trail Blazers with 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Ben McLemore added 23 off the bench. Dejounte Murray led San Antonio with 28 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
• The Trail Blazers average 36.9 three-point attempts per game, ninth-most in the NBA, while the Spurs hold opponents to 33.2 attempts per game, seventh-fewest in the league. Portland shoots 34.7% from deep while Spurs opponents shoot 35.9%.
• San Antonio rarely makes it to the charity stripe, averaging 19.8 FTA per game, second-fewest in the league, while Portland averages 22.1, 10th most in the league. The Trail Blazers shoot 76.1% at the line while the Spurs shoot 75.2%.
• Both teams rank in the Top 10 in both points off turnovers (Portland - 16.6, ninth; San Antonio - 16.5, 10th) and second chance points (San Antonio - 14.4, eighth; Portland - 13.9, 10th) per game.
• Ben McLemore has scored in double-digits in four of his last five games against the Spurs, averaging 14.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
• In his last five games vs. San Antonio, Kris Dunn is averaging 12.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.2 steals.
• Keon Johnson is averaging 12.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.50 steals in 29.6 minutes in his last four games, all starts.
• In his last five games vs. Portland, Dejounte Murray has averaged 16.0 points, 9.2 assists and 7.4 rebounds, recording one triple-double and one double-double.
• Keldon Johnson has averaged 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist in the season series with the Trail Blazers.
• Doug McDermott has averaged 12.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in his last five games against Portland, scoring in double-figures in four of those games.
NEWS AND NOTES
DIDI RETURNS: Didi Louzada returned from injury and made his Trail Blazers debut on March 30 vs. New Orleans, his former team, scoring five points, grabbing two rebounds and recording his first career block, in 11 minutes of action.
MONEY IN THE BANK: Drew Eubanks has scored 10+ points on 50% or better shooting in 11 straight games, one of only eight players to do so this season and two games shy of the longest streak this season (Montrezl Harrell - 13 games). The longest streak in Trail Blazers history belongs to Rasheed Wallace at 14 games.
STEALING THEIR THUNDER: Portland recorded 17 steals vs. Oklahoma City in an OT loss on March 28, a season-high for the Trail Blazers and the most in a single-game for the franchise since December 9, 2000 vs. Detroit.
BRANDON'S WILL: Brandon Williams scored 25 points (8-20 FG, 5-8 3-PT, 4-6 FT) with four rebounds, 12 assists and four steals in vs. Oklahoma City on March 28, joining Stephen Curry as the only rookies in NBA history to record at least 10 assists and four steals while making at least five three-pointers in a single game. He also joined Damian Lillard as the only Portland rookie in the draft lottery era to record 25 points and 10 assists in a single game. Williams ranks sixth in scoring (15.4 ppg), seventh in assists (4.1 apg) and third in steals (1.3 spg) among all rookies for the month of March.
FROM TROUTDALE: Drew Eubanks scored a career-high 27 points with 14 rebounds vs. OKC on March 28, marking his sixth double-double of the season and fifth with Portland. Eubanks has averaged 13.7 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 16 games for the Trail Blazers.
LAST FIVE GAMES
Game #76 - New Orleans 117, Portland 107 — March 30, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Portland fell to New Orleans 117-107 in an emotional night with the return of CJ McCollum to Moda Center ... Drew Eubanks led the Trail Blazers with 21 points (10-12 FG, 1-2 3-PT), nine rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block ... Brandon Williams dropped a double-double for the second consecutive game, scoring 10 points (4-10 FG, 2-6 3-PT) and dishing 10 assists ... Ben McLemore dropped 16 points (5-12 FG, 3-10 3-PT, 3-3 FT) off the bench ... Reggie Perry appeared in his first game since signing back with Portland, scoring a career-high 15 points and grabbing six boards ... Didi Louzada returned from injury and scored five points with two rebounds ... Greg Brown III made his first career start and scored nine points with three rebounds, three assists and a block ... CJ McCollum led New Orleans with 25 points (9-16 FG, 3-6 3-PT, 4-8 FT), three rebounds and four assists.
Game #75 - Oklahoma City 134, Portland 131 — March 28, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Portland lost to Oklahoma City 134-131 in overtime despite holding a lead after halftime and the third quarter ... Drew Eubanks scored a career-high 27 points and recorded his second straight double-double, grabbing 14 rebounds with three assists, three steals and two blocks ... Brandon Williams recorded his first career double-double, scoring 25 points (8-20 FG, 5-8 3-PT, 4-6 FT) with a career-high 12 assists, plus four rebounds and four steals ... Ben McLemore continued his hot streak, scoring 28 points (10-22 FG, 8-18 3-PT) off the bench with two rebounds ... Keon Johnson scored a career-high 17 points with five rebounds, four steals and two assists ... Kris Dunn and Keljin Blevins both scored 10 points off the bench ... Isaiah Roby led the Thunder with 30 points, eight boards and four assists while Aaron Wiggins scored 28 points with five rebounds and six assists.
Game #74 - Houston 115, Portland 98 — March 26, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Portland dropped the second game of a back-to-back with Houston 115-98 at Moda Center ... Drew Eubanks dropped a double-double with 14 points (5-9 FG, 0-1 3-PT, 4-8 FT), a career-high 15 rebounds, two assists and two steals ... Trendon Watford tallied the second double-double of his career, scoring 15 points (7-11 FG, 1-2 FT) with 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals ... Brandon Williams scored 15 points (6-15 FG, 1-6 3-PT, 2-2 FT) with eight assists, four rebounds, one steal and one block ... Keon Johnson dropped 14 points (5-15 FG, 4-9 3-PT) with two rebounds and two blocks ... Ben McLemore recorded his sixth consecutive game in double-figures, scoring 11 points (3-6 FG, 2-4 3-PT, 3-3 FT) with two rebounds and two steals off the bench ... Jalen Green led Houston with 25 points, six rebounds and two assists while Kenyon Martin Jr. added 27 off the bench.Game #73 - Houston 125, Portland 106 — March 25, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Portland fell to Houston 125-106 at Moda Center on Friday night in the first leg of a back-to-back with the Rockets ... Four Trail Blazers starters scored in double-figures, led by Trendon Watford with 19 points (8-13 FG, 3-5 FT), five rebounds, six assists and one steal ... Drew Eubanks added 18 points (9-12 FG), five rebounds and one assist ... CJ Elleby scored 14 points (6-10 FG, 1-2 3-PT, 1-3 FT) with seven rebounds and three assists ... Keon Johnson dropped 10 points (4-7 FG, 0-1 3-PT, 2-2 FT) with three boards, one assist and one steal ... Ben McLemore contributed 15 points (5-11 FG, 2-7 3-PT, 3-4 FT) with two rebounds and a block off the bench ... Kris Dunn scored 12 points (3-5 FG, 6-6 FT) with seven assists, three boards and two steals ... Jalen Green led the Rockets with 23 points and three boards ... Jae'Sean Tate added 17 points with four boards and two steals.
Game #72 - San Antonio 133, Portland 96 — March 23, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Portland lost to San Antonio 133-96 at Moda Center ... Ben McLemore scored 23 points (7-9 FG, 3-4 3-PT, 6-6 FT) off the bench, his second consecutive game dropping 20 off the bench, with two boards in 20 in minutes ... Drew Eubanks tied his career-high with 20 points (8-13 FG, 2-3 3-PT, 2-2 FT) and set a new career-high with his two made threes, while grabbing nine rebounds with four assists and a steal ... Trendon Watford scored 10 points (4-10 FG, 0-2 3-PT, 2-2 FT) ... Kris Dunn made his first start as a Trail Blazer and tallied nine points (4-9 FG, 1-1 FT), five boards, three assists and two steals ... Elijah Hughes scored 10 points with one rebound, one assist and one block ... CJ Elleby scored two points with one rebound, one assist and one block ... Dejounte Murray led the Spurs with 28 points, six rebounds, seven assists and a steal ... Keldon Johnson contributed 26 points.
INJURY NOTES
For the Trail Blazers, Eric Bledsoe (left Achilles; tendinopathy), Josh Hart (left knee; patellar tendinopathy), Joe Ingles (left knee recovery), Damian Lillard (core muscle recovery), Nassir Little (left shoulder recovery), Jusuf Nurkic (left foot; plantar fasciitis), Anfernee Simons (left knee; patellar tendinopathy), Trendon Watford (left knee; bone contusion) and Justise Winslow (left calf inflammation) are out for Friday’s game at San Antonio.
For the Spurs, Keita Bates-Diop (low back; soreness) is questionable; Devontae Cacok (G League - on assignment), Romeo Langford (right hamstring; strain), Doug McDermott (right ankle; sprain), DJ Stewart (G League - two-way), Joe Wisekamp (G League - on assignment) and Robert Woodward II (G League - two-way) are out.
BROADCAST NOTES
Friday’s game can be seen locally on ROOT SPORTS with Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hurd and Brooke Olzendam calling the action. ROOT SPORTS Plus is free for all ROOT SPORTS subscribers, varying by provider. Visit trailblazers.com/watch for more information. On the radio side, Travis Demers, Michael Holton and Jay Allen will have the call on Rip City Radio 620 AM and on all of the stations of the Deschutes Brewery Trail Blazers Radio Network.